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Esihistoria #1
Dance of the Tiger: A Novel of the Ice Age
Björn Kurtén's compelling novel gives the reader a detailed picture of life 35,000 years ago in Western Europe. One of the world's leading scholars of Ice Age fauna, Kurtén fuses extraordinary knowledge and imagination in this vivid evocation of our deepest past. This novel illuminates the lives of the humans who left us magnificent paintings in the caves of France and Spain.
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
11 people are currently reading
1797 people want to read
About the author
Björn Kurtén
44 books15 followersBjörn Olof Lennartson Kurtén (1924–1988) was a distinguished vertebrate paleontologist. He belonged to the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. He was a professor in paleontology at the University of Helsinki from 1972 up to his death in 1988. He also spent a year as lecturing guest professor at Harvard University in 1971.
In Not from the Apes (1971) Kurtén argued that man's development has been separate from that of monkeys and apes for at least 35 million years, and that man did not descend from anthropoids, but rather the reverse.
He was also the author of an acclaimed series of books about modern man's encounter with Neanderthals, such as Dance of the Tiger (1978, 1980). When asked what genre these works belonged in, Kurtén coined the term paleofiction to describe his oeuvre. This genre was popularized by Jean M. Auel in her Earth's Children series of books. He received several awards for his books around popularized science, among others the Kalinga Prize from UNESCO.
In the 1980s, Kurtén also hosted a 6-part TV series about the ice age, co-produced by several Scandinavian TV channels.
In Not from the Apes (1971) Kurtén argued that man's development has been separate from that of monkeys and apes for at least 35 million years, and that man did not descend from anthropoids, but rather the reverse.
He was also the author of an acclaimed series of books about modern man's encounter with Neanderthals, such as Dance of the Tiger (1978, 1980). When asked what genre these works belonged in, Kurtén coined the term paleofiction to describe his oeuvre. This genre was popularized by Jean M. Auel in her Earth's Children series of books. He received several awards for his books around popularized science, among others the Kalinga Prize from UNESCO.
In the 1980s, Kurtén also hosted a 6-part TV series about the ice age, co-produced by several Scandinavian TV channels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
October 2, 2022
A cut above when it comes to pre-historical fiction
DANCE OF THE TIGER is set in what would ultimately become northern Scandinavia during a warm break in the Ice Age between 40,000 and 25,000 years ago.
Fossils have shown that mammoth and reindeer lived there at that time so it makes sense for Kurtén’s fictional story to be populated with a variety of ice age fauna including the saber-tooth tiger, elk and an abundance of birds. Like many novels in a very crowded field, DANCE OF THE TIGER describes the meeting of the two human species that lived together on the earth at that time – the Neanderthal and the Cro-Magnon. But what lifts DANCE OF THE TIGER above the field and makes it a more challenging, cerebral novel (even compared to such iconic titles as Jean Auel’s THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR) is its scrupulous attention to the best known science concerning the world of that time – glacial geology, ecology and behaviour of Ice Age mammals, the “neotenization” of Cro-Magnon adults compared to Neanderthals (an interesting tidbit for you to look up), the apparent inability of the Neanderthal vocal tract to produce all of the modern vowels, and much, much more.
Björn Kurtén is a teacher at the University of Helsinki with a reputation as the world’s foremost evolutionary paleontologist. Given such lofty academic credentials, a reader might be forgiven for being surprised by the power and eloquence of his prose. Ultimately, DANCE OF THE TIGER is nothing less than a plausible hypothesis as to the reason for the ultimate extinction of the Neanderthal species, leaving the Cro-Magnon behind as the sole representatives of humankind on the face of the earth.
Provocative food for thought wrapped up in a thoroughly enjoyable novel. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
DANCE OF THE TIGER is set in what would ultimately become northern Scandinavia during a warm break in the Ice Age between 40,000 and 25,000 years ago.
Fossils have shown that mammoth and reindeer lived there at that time so it makes sense for Kurtén’s fictional story to be populated with a variety of ice age fauna including the saber-tooth tiger, elk and an abundance of birds. Like many novels in a very crowded field, DANCE OF THE TIGER describes the meeting of the two human species that lived together on the earth at that time – the Neanderthal and the Cro-Magnon. But what lifts DANCE OF THE TIGER above the field and makes it a more challenging, cerebral novel (even compared to such iconic titles as Jean Auel’s THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR) is its scrupulous attention to the best known science concerning the world of that time – glacial geology, ecology and behaviour of Ice Age mammals, the “neotenization” of Cro-Magnon adults compared to Neanderthals (an interesting tidbit for you to look up), the apparent inability of the Neanderthal vocal tract to produce all of the modern vowels, and much, much more.
Björn Kurtén is a teacher at the University of Helsinki with a reputation as the world’s foremost evolutionary paleontologist. Given such lofty academic credentials, a reader might be forgiven for being surprised by the power and eloquence of his prose. Ultimately, DANCE OF THE TIGER is nothing less than a plausible hypothesis as to the reason for the ultimate extinction of the Neanderthal species, leaving the Cro-Magnon behind as the sole representatives of humankind on the face of the earth.
Provocative food for thought wrapped up in a thoroughly enjoyable novel. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
May 8, 2010
5/8/10 Update: Some recent evidence found in Europe and genome studies bears on the speculative outcome of this story. See http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/sci...
The image of the hunched-over, beetle-browed, dark-skinned, stupid-looking, primitive Neanderthal is familiar to us all. Stephen Jay Gould, in his introduction to Bjorn Kurten's Dance of the Tiger, suggests this effigy is essentially false. The bent posture stemmed from one of the original skeletal remains which was later discovered to belong to a very arthritic individual accounting for the awkward carriage. The Neanderthal's brain was actually larger in size than present day man's, so "stupid" stems from our hubristic tendency to equate primitive with something less valuable than ourselves. And, of course, the portrayal as dark-skinned results from our innate racism assuming that primitive or ancient equals dark.
There is no question now among paleontologists that Neanderthals were indeed sapiens and that they may have had much in common with our direct ancestor, Cro-Magnon Man, who replaced the Neanderthals about 35,000 years ago. Ralph Solecki in Shanidar The First Flower People has shown how human Neanderthals were. They had quite "modern" burial customs (if one could call our current burial customs civilized - frankly they smack of the occult to me) which shows evidence of religious feeling, and advanced concept. They had quite human feelings and intelligence and, with the exception of the skull, even looked very much like modern man. What, then, accounts for the sudden disappearance of Neanderthal and their subsequent replacement exclusively by Cro-Magnon. That's what this novel is about.
Not only is this a fine story, but according to Gould, for whom I have tremendous respect, it's also good science. Bjorn Kurten is one of the world's foremost paleontologists. Kurten has weaved into his story a model of what might very well have occurred during the first contacts between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon. Along the way, says Gould, we absorb a great deal of accurate science, "insinuating every fact and theory that I know... about human evolution during the Ice Age, glacial geology, ecology, and Ice Age mammals."
Kurten's story revolves around Tiger, a Cro-Magnon, whose father is killed while on a mammoth hunt. He is injured and found at death's door by the "trolls" as the blacks (Cro-Magnon) refer to them. The trolls are the Neanderthal, white and tall, with prominent brows and a primitive language compared to the blacks from the south. Obviously Kurten is playing with our stereotypes here. We know that our homo sapiens ancestors evolved in Africa and hence were most likely black; and as the Neanderthal had lived in Northern Europe for a long time there is no reason why they might not have adapted to the colder climate with white skin. Anyway, I refuse to give away more of the story. Suffice it to say that Kurten's solution to the disappearance of the Neanderthal is neat, having genetic and anthropological implications, and the book will challenge you in many ways.
The image of the hunched-over, beetle-browed, dark-skinned, stupid-looking, primitive Neanderthal is familiar to us all. Stephen Jay Gould, in his introduction to Bjorn Kurten's Dance of the Tiger, suggests this effigy is essentially false. The bent posture stemmed from one of the original skeletal remains which was later discovered to belong to a very arthritic individual accounting for the awkward carriage. The Neanderthal's brain was actually larger in size than present day man's, so "stupid" stems from our hubristic tendency to equate primitive with something less valuable than ourselves. And, of course, the portrayal as dark-skinned results from our innate racism assuming that primitive or ancient equals dark.
There is no question now among paleontologists that Neanderthals were indeed sapiens and that they may have had much in common with our direct ancestor, Cro-Magnon Man, who replaced the Neanderthals about 35,000 years ago. Ralph Solecki in Shanidar The First Flower People has shown how human Neanderthals were. They had quite "modern" burial customs (if one could call our current burial customs civilized - frankly they smack of the occult to me) which shows evidence of religious feeling, and advanced concept. They had quite human feelings and intelligence and, with the exception of the skull, even looked very much like modern man. What, then, accounts for the sudden disappearance of Neanderthal and their subsequent replacement exclusively by Cro-Magnon. That's what this novel is about.
Not only is this a fine story, but according to Gould, for whom I have tremendous respect, it's also good science. Bjorn Kurten is one of the world's foremost paleontologists. Kurten has weaved into his story a model of what might very well have occurred during the first contacts between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon. Along the way, says Gould, we absorb a great deal of accurate science, "insinuating every fact and theory that I know... about human evolution during the Ice Age, glacial geology, ecology, and Ice Age mammals."
Kurten's story revolves around Tiger, a Cro-Magnon, whose father is killed while on a mammoth hunt. He is injured and found at death's door by the "trolls" as the blacks (Cro-Magnon) refer to them. The trolls are the Neanderthal, white and tall, with prominent brows and a primitive language compared to the blacks from the south. Obviously Kurten is playing with our stereotypes here. We know that our homo sapiens ancestors evolved in Africa and hence were most likely black; and as the Neanderthal had lived in Northern Europe for a long time there is no reason why they might not have adapted to the colder climate with white skin. Anyway, I refuse to give away more of the story. Suffice it to say that Kurten's solution to the disappearance of the Neanderthal is neat, having genetic and anthropological implications, and the book will challenge you in many ways.
December 31, 2012
I'll bet Kurten's Dance of the Tiger was source material for Jean Auel. While his novel doesn't have the pizazz of Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear, his is a far better scientific account of those times. If you're into palaeo-anthropological fiction, and you want to learn as much as one novel can tell you about the flora and fauna, the geographical features of what is now Scandinavia, clan culture of different tribes in the Pleistocene, then this is the book. While telling his tale, Kurten is also exploring a theory about the extinction of the Neandertals. That alone is worth the read. But the story itself, fraught with betrayal, revenge, and travel, is a tidy little action adventure in its own right. The main character's near death experience, as he returns from a seal hunt out on the ice sheet and a sudden storm batters the ice, is a nail-bitter. Mythic elements also inform Dance of the Tiger.
Kurten, who died in 1988 at the age of 64, was a professor of palaeontology at the University of Helsinki. Stephen Jay Gould, who wrote the introduction to Dance of the Tiger, calls Kurten "Europe's finest evolutionary paleontologist." His death was as the result of an infection he developed while recuperating from surgery for a minor brain tumor.
Kurten, who died in 1988 at the age of 64, was a professor of palaeontology at the University of Helsinki. Stephen Jay Gould, who wrote the introduction to Dance of the Tiger, calls Kurten "Europe's finest evolutionary paleontologist." His death was as the result of an infection he developed while recuperating from surgery for a minor brain tumor.
January 12, 2023
What picture does the word “neandertal” conjure up? Something hunched? Hulking? Brutish? Lumbering? It’s extraordinary that after more than a century this image persists so stubbornly, because it’s quite wrong and in an Introduction to the 1980 edition of this novel biologist Steven J Gould explained how such a grotesque cartoon ever came about in the first place.
Dance of the Tiger was primarily a vehicle for Björn Kurtén’s theory about their disappearance; but it was also an attempt to bring both them and our own ancestors properly to life as people. Back in the 1950s Kurtén was one of the world’s leading authorities on this whole subject, but some of his ideas were so radical even he only put them forward in this form (which he himself described as “palaeo-fiction”). It’s set in what is today south-eastern Sweden, 35,000 years ago during one of the warmer intervals between successive glaciations, and there are two kinds of human on the planet: the Cro-Magnons from Africa via Asia, who year on year are encroaching ever further into the lands of the indigenous Neandertal population of Europe. There’s misunderstanding, conflict, friendship and interbreeding. We get a good idea of the kind of world this was happening in too, with its glacial eskers and moraines, its woolly rhinos, mammoths and sabre-toothed cats.
It’s not the story itself here which will stick in my mind (I found the middle part a bit tedious to be honest), or Kurtén’s theory either; that can now be discounted, particularly since completion in 2010 of the Neandertal Genome Project. For me, and I would guess a lot of other readers too, what’s most striking is his sympathetic (in fact unforgettable) depiction of neandertals as living breathing people: their customs and manners, their minds. And, unlike his theory about their disappearance, much of it is looking increasingly accurate.
Oh yes, and one final thing: so why did they disappear? The answer is, they didn’t entirely. With the single exception of anyone from Africa south of the Sahara desert, everyone else on the planet today has a small percentage of Neandertal genes in their chromosomes—so they’re still here, part of what most of us are, part of our own ancestry. And if Kurtén’s portrayal of them as people is even half accurate, it’s quite possible too that at least some of our better qualities come from them.
Dance of the Tiger was primarily a vehicle for Björn Kurtén’s theory about their disappearance; but it was also an attempt to bring both them and our own ancestors properly to life as people. Back in the 1950s Kurtén was one of the world’s leading authorities on this whole subject, but some of his ideas were so radical even he only put them forward in this form (which he himself described as “palaeo-fiction”). It’s set in what is today south-eastern Sweden, 35,000 years ago during one of the warmer intervals between successive glaciations, and there are two kinds of human on the planet: the Cro-Magnons from Africa via Asia, who year on year are encroaching ever further into the lands of the indigenous Neandertal population of Europe. There’s misunderstanding, conflict, friendship and interbreeding. We get a good idea of the kind of world this was happening in too, with its glacial eskers and moraines, its woolly rhinos, mammoths and sabre-toothed cats.
It’s not the story itself here which will stick in my mind (I found the middle part a bit tedious to be honest), or Kurtén’s theory either; that can now be discounted, particularly since completion in 2010 of the Neandertal Genome Project. For me, and I would guess a lot of other readers too, what’s most striking is his sympathetic (in fact unforgettable) depiction of neandertals as living breathing people: their customs and manners, their minds. And, unlike his theory about their disappearance, much of it is looking increasingly accurate.
Oh yes, and one final thing: so why did they disappear? The answer is, they didn’t entirely. With the single exception of anyone from Africa south of the Sahara desert, everyone else on the planet today has a small percentage of Neandertal genes in their chromosomes—so they’re still here, part of what most of us are, part of our own ancestry. And if Kurtén’s portrayal of them as people is even half accurate, it’s quite possible too that at least some of our better qualities come from them.
September 30, 2013
After having read Clan of the Cave Bear so many times, I was hoping that there were more novels that took place over the same period. I had heard of this book and thought I would take a shot at it. While Dance of the Tiger was a good book, it was nowhere near the epic scale that was presented in Clan of the Cave Bear. The story does have a bit of dated feel to it, which does not necessarily mean it was bd by any means of the imagination. What it does say is that it feels written for an older time when books tended to be shorter then now and at times relied on quick and sometimes vague descriptions to move the story instead of relying on some extra detail to immerse the reader into the time period. One of the things that did bug me a lot was when the story revolved around the "Whites", the author tended to useable lot of modernizations in their social structure by using Mister or Miss a lot . Though the author explained the reasoning in a prior chapter, I still felt that it was a bit out of place.
Though I do have some misgivings about the book, I did enjoy it as a different take on the time period outside of Jean Auel's books. You do get presented with characters you will come to feel for such as Tiger, Veyde, and even Shelk and Goshawk. You get presented with a story that even though it is short and has a few problems, leaves you wanting a continuation or an even more fleshed out story. It was a well written book and you can definitely get a good feel for the research that the author has brought to the table.
If you are looking for a book that can give you a different take outside of the Earth's Children novels then I would recommend this book. Though it has a deal of issues I didn't like, I did enjoy the novel enough to read it once. It is definitely worth it for a quick fix on the time period, but if you want a book with tons of detail and depth I would approach it with an open mind and a little bit of caution.
Though I do have some misgivings about the book, I did enjoy it as a different take on the time period outside of Jean Auel's books. You do get presented with characters you will come to feel for such as Tiger, Veyde, and even Shelk and Goshawk. You get presented with a story that even though it is short and has a few problems, leaves you wanting a continuation or an even more fleshed out story. It was a well written book and you can definitely get a good feel for the research that the author has brought to the table.
If you are looking for a book that can give you a different take outside of the Earth's Children novels then I would recommend this book. Though it has a deal of issues I didn't like, I did enjoy the novel enough to read it once. It is definitely worth it for a quick fix on the time period, but if you want a book with tons of detail and depth I would approach it with an open mind and a little bit of caution.
July 2, 2018
La novela no me ha parecido gran cosa, no me ha enganchado. Pero sí me ha parecido muy interesante el prólogo, escrito por Juan Luis Arsuaga. Es amplio y muy divulgativo, en la línea de este gran científico. Sólo por su lectura merece la pena la novela.
Pág: 258
Puntuación: 7
Pág: 258
Puntuación: 7
December 12, 2009
A novel about the meetings and interactions of paleo-lithic tribes, including two different species of hominids.
I want to call this book science fiction, or maybe reverse science fiction. Good Sci-Fi is not really about imagining new technologies, but rather examining how new technologies might influence human life and culture. This is the inverse concept. Taking extremely limited technologies and imagining how human life and culture would have developed around it. It was a fun read for me.
I appreciated the effort the author went through to establish exactly where he is taking liberties with the facts, and he makes it clear that it is not a novel of "how things were", just his interpretation of how it might have been.
I want to call this book science fiction, or maybe reverse science fiction. Good Sci-Fi is not really about imagining new technologies, but rather examining how new technologies might influence human life and culture. This is the inverse concept. Taking extremely limited technologies and imagining how human life and culture would have developed around it. It was a fun read for me.
I appreciated the effort the author went through to establish exactly where he is taking liberties with the facts, and he makes it clear that it is not a novel of "how things were", just his interpretation of how it might have been.
April 21, 2019
Uskottava ja perinpohjainen paleoliittisen luonnonympäristön kuvaus, onnistunutta spekulointia siitä, miten olisi voinut käydä nykyihmisen ja neanderthalilaisten kohdatessa ensimmäisen kerran. Toki nykyinen geenitutkimus on jo osoittanut vääräksi kirjan spekulaatiot, mutta onnistuneita ne ovat silti. Myös nykyihmisen mieskeskeinen ja neanderthalilaisten tasa-arvoinen kulttuuri on luotu uskottavaksi - kyse ei ole kliseiden toistosta, vaan niiden tarkastelusta lähemmin.
Juoni ei seuraa ennalta-arvattavimpia polkuja, mikä on varsin ilahduttavaa. Olen lukenut kirjan edellisen kerran varmaan yli parikymmentä vuotta sitten, joten en muistanut ihan kaikkea siitä, että miten tarinassa käy, ja jotkut juonenkäänteet tulivat yllätyksenä.
Edelleen parasta, mitä paleofiktion saralla suomalainen kirjoittaja on koskaan kirjoittanut.
Juoni ei seuraa ennalta-arvattavimpia polkuja, mikä on varsin ilahduttavaa. Olen lukenut kirjan edellisen kerran varmaan yli parikymmentä vuotta sitten, joten en muistanut ihan kaikkea siitä, että miten tarinassa käy, ja jotkut juonenkäänteet tulivat yllätyksenä.
Edelleen parasta, mitä paleofiktion saralla suomalainen kirjoittaja on koskaan kirjoittanut.
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May 7, 2014I was very disappointed with this book. I guess I was expecting another Jean Auel. The author may have been a wonderful paleontologist, but he's not much of a storyteller. The names and dialogue in this tale of Ice Age people 35,000 years ago were right out of the 20th century. Example: "Now, Miss Squirrel married a man, and he was one of those who disliked me. Nor did she like him--" Really? The Neandertal people were fading into history as the Cro-Magnon people were coming in. Stephen Gould must not have read the book before he wrote the introduction. I couldn't finish it.
July 20, 2011
Unusually well-informed novel about Neanderthal and Cromagnon coexistence and conflict 35,000 years ago by an expert in the field.
June 7, 2023
can't wait until they clone mammoths for real
August 18, 2010
I have previously read two novels about contact between Cro-Magnon and Neandertal man: Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear and William Golding's The Inheritors. Björn Kurtén's Dance of the Tiger may not be as well known (I stumbled over it by chance in a publisher's catalogue), but it deserves to be. If it lacks the psychological depth of Golding's novel, it is just as engaging, and it is far more tautly written than Auel's potboiler. From the opening mammoth hunt the excitement is maintained almost without a pause for breath, with short descriptive passages heightening rather than diminishing the suspense.
Dance of the Tiger is also far better informed scientifically than either of the other novels. Kurtén was a professor of palaeontology at the University of Helsinki (Stephen Jay Gould calls him "Europe's finest evolutionary paleontologist") and Gould's introduction and an author's note at the end provide some hint of how careful his attention to detail was (though it is never overt or intrusive). While much of his reconstruction is obviously very conjectural, it observes the anthropological niceties and never stretches suspension of disbelief; my one major qualm was with an engineering implausibility (which I won't explain, since it is used to resolve the plot). Dance of the Tiger won't sell hundreds of thousands of copies or be prescribed as a text in English courses, but that's not a measure of its quality — if palaeoanthropological fiction appeals to you at all then you won't want to miss Kurtén's offering.
Dance of the Tiger is also far better informed scientifically than either of the other novels. Kurtén was a professor of palaeontology at the University of Helsinki (Stephen Jay Gould calls him "Europe's finest evolutionary paleontologist") and Gould's introduction and an author's note at the end provide some hint of how careful his attention to detail was (though it is never overt or intrusive). While much of his reconstruction is obviously very conjectural, it observes the anthropological niceties and never stretches suspension of disbelief; my one major qualm was with an engineering implausibility (which I won't explain, since it is used to resolve the plot). Dance of the Tiger won't sell hundreds of thousands of copies or be prescribed as a text in English courses, but that's not a measure of its quality — if palaeoanthropological fiction appeals to you at all then you won't want to miss Kurtén's offering.
February 22, 2018
I confess I skipped huge swaths of the plot--not so much from disinterest as from interest in a non-fiction book on a related topic: Yuval Harari's Sapiens. Still, I learned much from this paleontologist-author about our human cousins, the Neanderthals. Kurten acknowledges that his view of contact between our species and the Neanderthals is only one possible way things could have happened. Yet the author's note tells us that the evidence we do have of this extinct species counters the totally inaccurate image of a hairy, brutish, and not very intelligent creature. There is evidence that they lived longer than we do, cared for their elderly, and were probably light-skinned. Nearly 40 years after this book was written, there are still competing theories of how and why the Neanderthals disappeared. Kurten has his own intriguing theory involving sterility in interspecies children. It's worth picking up this book to explore it and also to enjoy his descriptions of the far north of our planet during a brief thaw in the ice age, 25-40,000 years ago.
May 29, 2018
I confess when I picked this book up in a museum’s second hand book sale I was not expecting great things. However spurred on by watching the BBC documentary “Neanderthal” I thought it might be funny to read what we thought not many years ago before science had zooped up our knowledge. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Written by Finnish paleontologist Kurten in the 1980s this book provides not only a cracking yarn but also a heap of information that I thought had only recently been revealed! Kurten had the last laugh on me.
‘Dance of The Tiger’ breathes life into our earliest ancestors - lack of modern scientific advances means Kurten could not have known that Neanderthal genomes are widely found among modern humans - and the humans moving into their lands from the South. The authors knowledge lightly creates a believable inter-glacial world for them to inhabit.
Fabulous read.
‘Dance of The Tiger’ breathes life into our earliest ancestors - lack of modern scientific advances means Kurten could not have known that Neanderthal genomes are widely found among modern humans - and the humans moving into their lands from the South. The authors knowledge lightly creates a believable inter-glacial world for them to inhabit.
Fabulous read.
February 15, 2008
This is one of the best fictional treatments of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens that I know of. Kurten was a well-respected palaeontologist, and his breadth of knowledge shows in this book. The story, however, is so well & sensitively told (even in translation) that the science "goes down" fairly painlessly. I have had my physical anthropology students read this & I know others who've assigned this to beginning anthropology students; nearly all of them like it and get quite a bit from the book.
BTW, I think that this edition is a more recent one since I'm sure I read this first more than 20 years ago.
BTW, I think that this edition is a more recent one since I'm sure I read this first more than 20 years ago.
April 29, 2012
I first read this book as a requirement in my intro to biological anthropology class, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now that I occasionally teach bio anth, I also use it in my class, asking my students to do a review of it.
The novel portrays a couple of different possibilities for the interactions between early homo sapiens and neandertals. It's descriptions of pleistocene flora and fauna are truly excellent, the characters are memorable and there's enough of a mystery-type story to keep wanting to turn the pages.
Kurten also brilliantly, but very logically, does some things with language and skin color that flips some basic assumptions on their heads.
The novel portrays a couple of different possibilities for the interactions between early homo sapiens and neandertals. It's descriptions of pleistocene flora and fauna are truly excellent, the characters are memorable and there's enough of a mystery-type story to keep wanting to turn the pages.
Kurten also brilliantly, but very logically, does some things with language and skin color that flips some basic assumptions on their heads.
January 22, 2010
Bjorn Kurten was a well-respected Finnish palaeontologist and this novel is a beautifully written & scientifically plausible rendering of archaic human times. He depicts the possible/probable interactions between the so-called Neanderthals and early modern Homo sapiens. This one book is a far, far better introduction to the science, theory & data of human evolution than all of the saggy, baggy volumes of Jean Auel's put together.
July 8, 2013
What would have happened if Neanderthals and Sapiens met? How would they interact with each other? These are the kind of question that fascinated me studying Anthropology. Even thought we do not have (now) sure proofs that Neanderthals showed some sort of symbolic behaviour, it is still very interesting imaging what they would think, how they would see the world, and how they would relate to their closest cousin, the sapiens.
February 13, 2016
This was the absolute star of my weekend's reading! What a charming story; it reads allegorically, both intentionally and unintentionally on the part of the author, I think. I learned a lot about prehistory and anthropology and was introduced to a lot of delightful characters who I would love to think are our forebears.
Straight onto my Top 50 shelf!
Straight onto my Top 50 shelf!
November 26, 2008
Very enjoyable book. And I remembered bits of it from my childhood, when my father read it to me.
June 3, 2012
A historical fiction that gives a great insight into the prehistorica people living in Europe.
November 17, 2019
5 stars! I expected it to remind me The Clan of the Cave Bear but for some reason it actually reminded me of The Lord of the Flies! 🤔
April 25, 2023
Bjorn Kurten's 'Dance of the Tiger' is an interpretation of human culture in Europe around 35,000 thousand years ago. Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals come together in this novel, and you get to see comparisons between their physiology and cultures.
This novel has drama, adventure, some romance, and suspense. The social organization of both groups is not explained in absolute depth (eg. Earth's children series), but it serves the story well. It especially serves well when we get to the under-the-table plotting and political conspiracies that develop half-way through the story.
As for the anthropological aspects...
The Cro-Magnons are called "Blacks" (since they have recently migrated from Africa and still maintain their dark complexation) while the Neanderthals are "Whites" (Having lived in the north for so long, it is assumed their skin is light to accommodate their differentiated sun exposure.
Several of the characters are hybrids (half Homo Sapient and half Neanderthal), which is pretty exciting if you want to read a novel that explores this dimension of human history. Kurten explains the choices and interpretations he's made in the "Author's note" section, and they are perfectly sensible interpretations. In fact, I think his opinions are ahead of his time in a way. In a time when Neanderthals were thought to be brutes, they are interpreted here to be just as capable as homo sapiens. The only difference is their physicality and their cultures. The Cro-Magnons discriminated the Neanderthals because they thought they were incredibly ugly. While the Neanderthals felt the Cro-Magnons had beautiful faces (lack of a brow-ridge is thought here to make Neanderthals think of homo sapiens as having baby-like features, and thus adorable and eternally youthful), and they admired their height. Again, all interpretations, but very interesting nonetheless.
***
Below will be spoilers. Stop here if you don't want story spoilers. Otherwise, you may continue.
***
I will be very honest, I remember very little of the beginning of the book. Or at least not enough to make it feel significant. Only the first chapter or two, when we get to meet Tiger when he was a little boy and his encounter with the Neanderthal skull that he befriended, thinking the ghost still lives in it (that was really cute honestly). And then there was the ambush years later, and tiger being saved by Miss Woad (Veyde). There is also the introduction of Shelk (the villain, whom are actually identical twins pretending to be the same person), but only as a fleeting memory of Tiger's.
The REAL story starts right in the middle, when Shelk's backstory is revealed. From there on, things start picking up and I finally feel like continuously reading without putting the book down. There was intrigue, conspiracies, people spreading rumors, secret plots, etc etc. super fun stuff! The Shelks are great characters, and I felt more attached to Left Hand (One of the twins) than I ever did for Tiger. I think Tiger could have used a lot more character development. He lacks depth, and I never really rooted for him strongly. That's why I took off a star from the review. I think Baywillow was a better written character to be honest (Or maybe it was just me. I found him to be more interesting, and wished he was the main character).
The ending was a bit confusing for me. The whole finale was wrapped up in two pages. I was able to make sense of it after a second reading, but I think it could use a third page or so to smooth things out.
It's a bit hard to judge this book since the author intended for it to be a collection of scientific and anthropological studies put together in a story form. Kurten did take creative liberties to flesh out the world and make it feel lived in, and I dearly appreciate the work he did and bringing this book into existence. I think we do need a book like this about the stone age :) It's the only one I've read so far that has quite some political intrigue (Yes I'm talking about the Shelk chapters they were very cool)
I should wrap up my review here. Overall, very fun read if you are a fan of anthropology and the paleolithic.
This novel has drama, adventure, some romance, and suspense. The social organization of both groups is not explained in absolute depth (eg. Earth's children series), but it serves the story well. It especially serves well when we get to the under-the-table plotting and political conspiracies that develop half-way through the story.
As for the anthropological aspects...
The Cro-Magnons are called "Blacks" (since they have recently migrated from Africa and still maintain their dark complexation) while the Neanderthals are "Whites" (Having lived in the north for so long, it is assumed their skin is light to accommodate their differentiated sun exposure.
Several of the characters are hybrids (half Homo Sapient and half Neanderthal), which is pretty exciting if you want to read a novel that explores this dimension of human history. Kurten explains the choices and interpretations he's made in the "Author's note" section, and they are perfectly sensible interpretations. In fact, I think his opinions are ahead of his time in a way. In a time when Neanderthals were thought to be brutes, they are interpreted here to be just as capable as homo sapiens. The only difference is their physicality and their cultures. The Cro-Magnons discriminated the Neanderthals because they thought they were incredibly ugly. While the Neanderthals felt the Cro-Magnons had beautiful faces (lack of a brow-ridge is thought here to make Neanderthals think of homo sapiens as having baby-like features, and thus adorable and eternally youthful), and they admired their height. Again, all interpretations, but very interesting nonetheless.
***
Below will be spoilers. Stop here if you don't want story spoilers. Otherwise, you may continue.
***
I will be very honest, I remember very little of the beginning of the book. Or at least not enough to make it feel significant. Only the first chapter or two, when we get to meet Tiger when he was a little boy and his encounter with the Neanderthal skull that he befriended, thinking the ghost still lives in it (that was really cute honestly). And then there was the ambush years later, and tiger being saved by Miss Woad (Veyde). There is also the introduction of Shelk (the villain, whom are actually identical twins pretending to be the same person), but only as a fleeting memory of Tiger's.
The REAL story starts right in the middle, when Shelk's backstory is revealed. From there on, things start picking up and I finally feel like continuously reading without putting the book down. There was intrigue, conspiracies, people spreading rumors, secret plots, etc etc. super fun stuff! The Shelks are great characters, and I felt more attached to Left Hand (One of the twins) than I ever did for Tiger. I think Tiger could have used a lot more character development. He lacks depth, and I never really rooted for him strongly. That's why I took off a star from the review. I think Baywillow was a better written character to be honest (Or maybe it was just me. I found him to be more interesting, and wished he was the main character).
The ending was a bit confusing for me. The whole finale was wrapped up in two pages. I was able to make sense of it after a second reading, but I think it could use a third page or so to smooth things out.
It's a bit hard to judge this book since the author intended for it to be a collection of scientific and anthropological studies put together in a story form. Kurten did take creative liberties to flesh out the world and make it feel lived in, and I dearly appreciate the work he did and bringing this book into existence. I think we do need a book like this about the stone age :) It's the only one I've read so far that has quite some political intrigue (Yes I'm talking about the Shelk chapters they were very cool)
I should wrap up my review here. Overall, very fun read if you are a fan of anthropology and the paleolithic.
Read
March 1, 2025incredibly difficult to review this novel which is so clearly imbued with a true passion for pre-history and a deep empathy for the different species of human beings we shared this earth with. i appreciated Kurtén's attention to the emotional, physical, and spiritual dimensions to the prehistoric world. although some of this has become outdated with new scientific discoveries, Kurtén's attention to detail is incredible. the prose and story structure are also great, compared to The Inheritors this is definitely the superior Neandertal novel.
that being said i think some aspects are messy. the homo sapiens are a patriarchal society while the neandertals are matriarchal: "the man's role was to hunt, fight, beget sons, and seek the mystery of communion with the powers unknown; the women's, to bear and rear children, gather,..., and obey the man that chose her to be the mother of her sons". the human women lack spiritual possibility and labor all day. the neandertal women are physically the same as the neandertal men and therefore hunt, gather, and rule neandertal society. the author's note suggests patriarchy in humans comes from the size difference but one of the human men who lives with neandertal women refers to them exclusively as 'bitches' and 'offers' them to other men despite the fact that neandertal women are physically the same as human men. i guess this aspect of the novel sat poorly with me because its so bioessentialist and makes me ponder if the author was unable to imagine this aspect of society outside of his contemporary gender norms.
February 23, 2025
The author was a paleontologist with particular expertise in the Cenozoic Era and had also written a few non-fiction works, some focusing on the Pleistocene or Ice Age epoch. In this imagined fiction set during such a period in Europe he turned scientific knowledge into fiction, speculating what life might have been like for people and animals of the time. Tribes of both modern man and neanderthals interact, while their lifestyles, language and culture were described in detail. Kurten was ahead of his time in making the complexion of neanderthals 'white' while Homo sapiens were of dark color, which science has since confirmed to be the case. More amazingly his account of the two human species freely interbreeding and exchanging genes is fully supported by subsequent genomic research in the 21st century. Actually reading about how and the circumstances in which this might have happened was fascinating to say the least, and also unexpected in many ways - I won't spoil it by saying more. The description of the landscape of ice, snow, tundra, bog and forest, ever shifting with the seasons, felt very authentic, as was the moment captured by the book's title, the dance of sabertooth cats as they hunted a family of mammoths. This passage alone was so breath taking and revealing - in how those oversized felid canines were used to dispatch prey, that it alone made the book worthwhile.
February 27, 2025
There’s no definitive evidence that supports Neandertals and sapients ever met. Yet they existed around the same time period when the Neandertals, relatively quickly, went extinct. Why? Dance of the Tiger presents one model for this, packaged as a prehistoric fiction.
It’s possible, among other theories, that Neandertals went extinct due to the mixing of sapients and Neandertals effectively sterilizing the latter group, Bjorn Kurten poses. But that’s just one among many theories. And he concedes there may be no single answer but multiple converging ones.
This novel weaves together many facts of the prehistoric period, and fills in the gaps based on reasonable assumptions where material fact does not exist. All the while, it enlightens us about the many traits shared between prehistoric humans and modern humans, and allows us to empathize with our ancestors — including Neandertals — in a way that is often not possible if one relies on common depictions of ‘cave men’.
Dance of the Tiger follows the main character Tiger in his quest for vengeance, then freedom, against one who’s wronged him and his family. But it also shows us that there’s more connecting us than separating us. That holds true 35,000+ years ago, when many species of sapients walked the earth, and certainly holds true now, where there is only one — homo sapiens.
It’s possible, among other theories, that Neandertals went extinct due to the mixing of sapients and Neandertals effectively sterilizing the latter group, Bjorn Kurten poses. But that’s just one among many theories. And he concedes there may be no single answer but multiple converging ones.
This novel weaves together many facts of the prehistoric period, and fills in the gaps based on reasonable assumptions where material fact does not exist. All the while, it enlightens us about the many traits shared between prehistoric humans and modern humans, and allows us to empathize with our ancestors — including Neandertals — in a way that is often not possible if one relies on common depictions of ‘cave men’.
Dance of the Tiger follows the main character Tiger in his quest for vengeance, then freedom, against one who’s wronged him and his family. But it also shows us that there’s more connecting us than separating us. That holds true 35,000+ years ago, when many species of sapients walked the earth, and certainly holds true now, where there is only one — homo sapiens.
July 5, 2019
No plot - author's theories about life in northern Europe 30,000 years ago when Neandertals and Cro-Magnons co-existed and interacted, mostly violently. Long passages about the flora and fauna of the time, daily lives of the people, descriptions of the land, lakes and seas. The Neandertals were white, blonde and peace-loving; they had a rich language. The Cro-Magnons were dark, black and aggressive. Similar to William Golding's THE INHERITORS but written from a paleontologist's point of view. These books should be read together to get a picture from different perspectives, although neither book has a real story line. If you want interesting plot and characters read CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR.
January 11, 2023
First finished book of 2023!
I thought this book had a very interesting premise. I loved reading about the prehistoric world and I really loved the way Neanderthals and Homo sapiens are portrayed, the cultural and physical differences and similarities between both and how they interacted with each other. The fact that this book was written by an actual paleontologist made it all the more believable and realistic. However, the story itself wasn't written in a very engaging way, it is clear that his main focus was not to be the author of a thrilling book, but to write about prehistoric life. Which was completely fine; it made the book enjoyable to read, but it didn't grip me the way that, for example, Clan of the Cave Bear did.
I thought this book had a very interesting premise. I loved reading about the prehistoric world and I really loved the way Neanderthals and Homo sapiens are portrayed, the cultural and physical differences and similarities between both and how they interacted with each other. The fact that this book was written by an actual paleontologist made it all the more believable and realistic. However, the story itself wasn't written in a very engaging way, it is clear that his main focus was not to be the author of a thrilling book, but to write about prehistoric life. Which was completely fine; it made the book enjoyable to read, but it didn't grip me the way that, for example, Clan of the Cave Bear did.
December 19, 2023
The Dance of the Tiger is an exhilarating and gripping insight into the world of Northern Europe at a time when Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals were encountering one another. It’s not only scientifically rigorous, it’s a genuinely captivating story. Most importantly, the interactions between the Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals should keep any reader hooked - heartwarming, eery and fascinating all at the same time. Whilst the character development seems a little lacking, given the challenge of writing a book like this, it’s a minor criticism which is far outweighed by the book’s enticing narrative. I think this book reveals that somewhere buried deep in our psyches is a memory of this strange encounter…
June 15, 2023
The first part enthralled me. The descriptions of life and the story really pulled me in. For some reason after the first part I lost some interest. Perhaps because I was so into Tiger's story and then it got switched to the Shelks for awhile.
I was a little confused about the locations with all the various lake names and where they were and where they went. But that's not probably the author's fault. That was also a little confused about which Shelk was which in the end.
Anyways, I love this story, the setting and the author's writing. I wish there were more books like this and I wish this author had produced more historical fiction.
I was a little confused about the locations with all the various lake names and where they were and where they went. But that's not probably the author's fault. That was also a little confused about which Shelk was which in the end.
Anyways, I love this story, the setting and the author's writing. I wish there were more books like this and I wish this author had produced more historical fiction.
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